# Price the Job, Not the Clock

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/job-value-rate-check · Last updated 3 November 2026

Your cleaning business quotes every job at one flat hourly rate, so end-of-lease and post-construction work quietly loses money and your best crews earn the same for harder jobs. Ivanka Menken uses the Job-Value Rate Check inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to price the job instead of the clock. You leave with a one-page rate-and-scope sheet: the hourly base, a written complexity loading and the value the client receives.

## Busy every week, and the hard jobs pay the least

- You quote every job at the same hourly rate.
- End-of-lease and post-construction cleans run over and earn nothing extra.
- Your best crew is paid the same for the hardest work.

**THE MOMENT:** It is late on a Thursday and your best crew is still at a post-construction clean that was quoted like a regular house. Dust in every vent, paint on the windows, a builder waiting for the keys. The quote was the hourly rate times a guess. Tomorrow you will pay the crew the same hour you paid them for an easy weekly clean, and you already know they noticed.

### THE PRICING, AS IT STANDS

- Quote: one hourly rate for every job
- Complexity: guessed on the day, if at all
- End-of-lease and post-construction: often over time
- Crew pay: the same hour for every job
- Client value: never written on the quote

## Raise the hourly rate across the board

In this case, the founder ran a nine-person cleaning business. Every job was quoted and paid on one flat hourly rate. When margins slipped, the obvious fix was to lift the hourly rate for everyone. Regular clients pushed back, a few left, and the end-of-lease and post-construction jobs still ran over and still lost money.

## The rate described the clock, not the job

Ivanka noticed the founder already had an hourly number that worked as a base. What was missing was the job itself: the complexity of a heavy kitchen or a builder's clean, and the value the client received, such as a passed inspection or a site ready to hand over. The crews felt it too. Harder work earned the same hour, so the best people had no reason to take it.

## A flat rate, not a pricing problem

The real issue was a rate built around the clock. One hourly number made every job look the same on the quote, so the jobs with the most complexity and the most value to the client earned the least.
The reframe: price the job, not the clock. Keep the hourly base, add a complexity loading from a short written list, name the value the client receives on the quote and pay the crew from the same sheet. Then review the sheet after a set number of jobs, rather than guessing on the day.

> The hour is the base. The job sets the price.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Every month on a flat rate, the hardest jobs lose money, the regular clients carry the difference and the best crew learns that harder work pays the same.

## The tool: Job-Value Rate Check

The Job-Value Rate Check is how 1:1 Mentoring moves a quote from the clock to the job. It keeps the hourly base, adds a written complexity loading for the jobs that are harder, names the value the client receives and ties crew pay to the same sheet.

It is one page: the hourly base, the short list of complexity loadings by job type, the value line for each job type, how crew pay follows the loading, and the review point after a set number of jobs. Under it, the quote for the next job, worked through on the sheet.

It replaces one flat rate for every job, complexity guessed on the day, rate rises that punish regular clients and crews paid the same for the hardest work.

### What goes on the page

1. The base: the hourly rate the business already uses
2. Regular clean: the base, no loading
3. End-of-lease: the base plus a written complexity loading
4. Post-construction and heavy kitchens: a higher written loading
5. The value line: what the client receives, on every quote
6. Crew pay: the base plus a share of the loading, reviewed after a set number of jobs

It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, next to the monthly scorecard. One fortnightly session builds the sheet, the next ones read the jobs quoted on it. It is coaching, not a pricing service, and there is no separate checkout.

## The base first, then the job

In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to list the job types that ran over most often and what made them harder. They kept the hourly base, wrote a loading for each harder job type and a line naming what the client receives. Then they decided how crew pay would follow the loading. The founder left with the sheet, the next quote worked through on it and a review after a set number of jobs.

### The questions

- Which job types run over most often?
- What makes them harder than a regular clean?
- What does the client receive at the end of that job?
- How should the crew share in the harder work?
- After how many jobs will you review the sheet?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: One flat hourly rate for every job.
2. The numbers: The base, the loadings by job type, the jobs that ran over.
3. The story: Why raising the rate for everyone did not fix the hard jobs.
4. The commitment: The next quote priced on the sheet, reviewed after a set number of jobs.

Before the next session, the founder quoted the next end-of-lease and post-construction jobs on the sheet, told the crews how the loading would reach their pay and noted every job that still ran over.

## Quotes that match the work

By month 6, every quote starts from the hourly base, harder jobs carry a written loading, the client sees the value on the quote and the crew is paid from the same sheet.

**BEFORE**

- One flat hourly rate for every job.
- Complexity guessed on the day.
- Hard jobs over time and under priced.
- The same hour paid for the hardest work.

**BY MONTH 6**

- The hourly base, plus a written loading.
- Complexity priced before the job starts.
- The value named on every quote.
- Crew pay that follows the harder work.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## Keep the hour, price the job

Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders who keep carrying the same decisions. Every fortnight she helps you name one decision, write the commitment and check it two weeks later.
This fits if you run a service business that quotes by the hour and some jobs are clearly harder than others. It does not fit if you want someone to set your prices for you or manage your payroll. The decision in front of you is one sheet. Keep the base, write the loadings and quote the next job on it.

> During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.
>
> Business owner

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You run a cleaning or similar service business.
- You quote and pay mostly by the hour.
- Some job types keep running over.
- You will write the loadings down and use them.

### It does not fit

- You want a pricing consultant to set your rates.
- You want payroll or award advice.
- Every job you do is the same.
- You will keep guessing on the day.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Job-Value Rate Check is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Job-Value Rate Check for your quotes

Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=job-value-rate-check#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Job-Value Rate Check

### Should a cleaning business charge by the hour or by the job?

Use both: the hourly base keeps the quote grounded, and the job sets the final price. A regular clean sits at the base, while end-of-lease and post-construction work carry a written loading. Ivanka Menken builds that rate-and-scope sheet with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and you quote the next job on it.

### How do I price a post-construction or end-of-lease clean?

Start from your hourly base, then add a complexity loading written for that job type, and name what the client receives, such as a site ready to hand over. Write the loading once, so it is not guessed on the day. Ivanka Menken works it through with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How do I pay my crew fairly for harder jobs?

Pay from the same sheet you quote from: the base for every hour, plus a share of the loading on harder jobs. Then harder work pays more, and your best crew has a reason to take it. Ivanka Menken helps you decide the share inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. She does not give payroll or award advice.

### What if regular clients push back on higher prices?

This approach leaves regular cleans at the base. The loading only applies where the job is harder, so you stop lifting everyone's rate to cover a few jobs. Ivanka Menken helps you write the sheet and the words for the quote inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and you review it after a set number of jobs.


## Keep the base, write the loadings

If your hardest jobs earn the least, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Job-Value Rate Check is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=job-value-rate-check#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [Price the clean-out from the dumpsters](https://ivankamenken.com/price-by-dumpsters)
- [Put a triple rate on rush work](https://ivankamenken.com/triple-rush-fee-rule)
- [Set a gross margin floor before you quote](https://ivankamenken.com/gross-margin-floor)
- [The 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka